Thursday, June 16, 2005
Wheel of Justice moves in Argentina
Victory for The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo (also known as Mothers of "Disappeared"
The Supreme Court of Argentina has ruled that the infamous "Amnesty Law" is unconstitutional. "The court upheld a decision by the Argentine Congress in August 2003 to scrap the amnesty laws." The Supreme Court ruling came in the case of former police officer Julio Simon, accused in the disappearance of a couple and of having taken their daughter as his own.
The law was put in place in 1986 by the military junta involved in murder and torture during the Dirty War against left-wing opponents. Civil liberties groups claim that as many as 30,000 were killed or went "missing" during the years when the country was under dictatorship.
"The ruling clears the way for prosecutions of officials suspected of human rights abuses during military rule between 1976 and 1983."
Under Argentine law, the decision will act as a precedent in other cases involving the Dirty War."
*******
Mothers of Plaza de Mayo
"A group of women who became a symbol of human rights activism and courage. Dressed in black, they have been demonstrating for years every Thursday at 3:30 in the afternoon, in the famous Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, demanding to know the fates of their loved ones. Marching around the statue of liberty, in front of the presidential palace, they used to tie white hadkerchiefs imprinted with names of disappeared sons and daughters, around their heads, and carry signs emblazoned with photographs of those about whose destinies they sought information. The Mothers' use of the imagery of Christian motherhood made them particularly effective against the professedly Catholic military regime.
The mothers are a symbol of courage; leading the struggle for justice, they started their demonstrations while the junta was still in power. Several of them, including their founder, Azucena Villaflor de Vicenti, disappeared themselves as a result."
*******
The United States Government was involved in aiding and abetting the Argentinian military junta. Dr. Henry Kissinger was the architect of our foreign policy during those years. The 1982 movie, "Missing" by Costa-Gavras, starring Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek, is a realistic depiction of the atrocities that took place in Argentina, Chile, and other Latin American countries.
Link:
Madres de Plaza de Mayo
Missing
BBC-Argentina
The Supreme Court of Argentina has ruled that the infamous "Amnesty Law" is unconstitutional. "The court upheld a decision by the Argentine Congress in August 2003 to scrap the amnesty laws." The Supreme Court ruling came in the case of former police officer Julio Simon, accused in the disappearance of a couple and of having taken their daughter as his own.
The law was put in place in 1986 by the military junta involved in murder and torture during the Dirty War against left-wing opponents. Civil liberties groups claim that as many as 30,000 were killed or went "missing" during the years when the country was under dictatorship.
"The ruling clears the way for prosecutions of officials suspected of human rights abuses during military rule between 1976 and 1983."
Under Argentine law, the decision will act as a precedent in other cases involving the Dirty War."
Mothers of Plaza de Mayo
"A group of women who became a symbol of human rights activism and courage. Dressed in black, they have been demonstrating for years every Thursday at 3:30 in the afternoon, in the famous Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, demanding to know the fates of their loved ones. Marching around the statue of liberty, in front of the presidential palace, they used to tie white hadkerchiefs imprinted with names of disappeared sons and daughters, around their heads, and carry signs emblazoned with photographs of those about whose destinies they sought information. The Mothers' use of the imagery of Christian motherhood made them particularly effective against the professedly Catholic military regime.
The mothers are a symbol of courage; leading the struggle for justice, they started their demonstrations while the junta was still in power. Several of them, including their founder, Azucena Villaflor de Vicenti, disappeared themselves as a result."
The United States Government was involved in aiding and abetting the Argentinian military junta. Dr. Henry Kissinger was the architect of our foreign policy during those years. The 1982 movie, "Missing" by Costa-Gavras, starring Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek, is a realistic depiction of the atrocities that took place in Argentina, Chile, and other Latin American countries.
Link:
Madres de Plaza de Mayo
Missing
BBC-Argentina
